Cybercrimes in Gujarat

Imploring the public to remain alert, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Rajkumar Pandian has said that almost a quarter of the cybercrimes committed since 2020 could have been prevented. He also requested the public to use the 1930 helpline number to report such crimes to the CID branch as soon as possible.

“We have received complaints regarding fraud totalling about ₹1,555.88 crore since 2020. Of this, fraud worth ₹346.07 crore—roughly 22.25%—could be prevented,” he said. Adding that most people only want to get their money back, but do not want to file first information reports (FIRs), he also shared that while a whopping 11,69,508 calls were received, only 2,80,272 formal complaints have been filed since 2020. 

Pandian also stated that people in Gujarat often fall prey to scamsters from other states and countries. Fake identity fraud, share market fraud, credit card fraud and phishing—where criminals masquerade as a legitimate business or reputable person to acquire sensitive data, such as bank account numbers, through a fraudulent solicitation in email or on a website—are the most common cybercrimes targeting Gujaratis, he said. 

Advising the public not to share personal details with unknown entities, Pandian explained that cybercriminals often use the dark web to transfer funds abroad, making it extremely difficult to track down. Time is of the essence in cracking such cases, he added, asking people to report such crimes to the CID branch as soon as possible.

Superintendent of Police handling cyber​​crime, Dharmendra Sharma, who was also present at the interaction with the press, said that investment fraud takes about two months to come to light. He advised the public to not make any investments without doing due diligence. “In some cases, criminals also intimidate victims in the name of CBI, ED, etc. Such cases should be reported to the nearest police station at the earliest,” he said.